Britain’s most married man calls off ninth wedding as ‘it didn’t feel right’

Britain’s most married man has called off his engagement to wife number nine – claiming it just ‘didn’t feel right’.

Serial husband Ron Sheppard, 71, proposed to Rose Hans, 30, last month after a year-long romance – even though the pair had never met.

The dad-of-eight had hoped to tie the knot with the American after she had completed a nursing course in Ghana, nearly 5,000 miles away.

But the retired entertainments manager has now revealed that he pulled the plug on the upcoming nuptials via email – and at the last minute.

Mr Sheppard, from Somerton, Somerset, said: ‘We were supposed to meet on Friday. It didn’t feel like the right thing for me to do – especially when you don’t really love someone.

‘She was doing all the pushing. It didn’t feel right in my heart. My love was always in a different place.

‘Of course, she was upset and all that – but I expected a pleading email and I didn’t get that. She said she couldn’t take phone calls as she’s in Ghana.’

Mr Sheppard has said he now plans to write a book about relationships – as he ‘has experience’.

Three years ago, he was given a restraining order for harassing his eighth wife during their divorce.

And months before that he got engaged to a Filipino woman 40 years younger than him – but that also fell through.

Speaking about the latest split and possible book, he said: ‘I want to give myself some time – but people have asked me what I would do [about their problems] before.’

Mr Sheppard has been married eight times, first walking down the aisle more than 50 years ago in 1966.

His longest union lasted 13 years and the shortest just 10 months.

He has, in order, wedded Margaret, Jeanette, Lesley, Kathy, Sue, Usha, Wan and Weng.